


October Surprise

by lizadurds



Series: I may not be Wise [3]
Category: The Politician (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:22:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizadurds/pseuds/lizadurds
Summary: Part three of the I may not be wise - What if River never died series.
Relationships: Alice Charles/Payton Hobart, River Barkley/Astrid Sloan, River Barkley/Payton Hobart
Series: I may not be Wise [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890478
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	October Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll have no idea how hard this was for me to get to you. Long story short I broke my laptop charger last week, and just as I had finished writing my laptop went flat. So I rewrote the ending on my phone and tried to publish it on my phone, but believe it or not my $50 phone did not appreciate that and if it wasn't AO3 messing up it was my copy and paste function and eventually it pasted but it didn't save any of my line breaks so I had to go through and fix all of those manually then my phone crashed because seven thousand words is a lot (turned out my work wasn't even 7000 at this point) so eventually I gave up and when my sister* came home from her boyfriends I finally could charge my laptop and when I did I realised the work wasn't my goal length so I had to go through and add an entire scene (not telling ya'll what that was otherwise it would change your entire outlook of the story) and now it's finally got to you after three days of sitting in my Google Drive ready to be published. so because I went to all that effort please PLEASE leave kudos it would be much appreciated. Enjoy  
> -Eliza

** Sometime last year **

Payton stood outside the auditorium going over his cue cards and pacing back and forth. He could hear the chatters of the audience as they rolled through the doors all of which only made his nerves grow.

“Hey what’s up Payton?” River questions stopping in front of him

“I’m practicing. I have a debate team competition this afternoon” he says continuing to pace

“What’s the debate about?” River had his hands in the pockets of his letterman jacket and Payton’s thoughts momentarily drifted away from the debate and about the feeling of River’s arms wrapped around him. Payton stopped pacing and looked up at him.

“Whether hate speech should be regulated or protected by the first amendment” River peeks into the auditorium noticing all the people piling into the seats. Taking note of the positioning of the desks.

“Heavy stuff” River notes “Which side are you arguing” River couldn’t help but smile as he noticed Payton once again begin to pace back and forth not looking up from the cue cards as he began to speak

“Well, they don’t tell you until you get there, so you have to prepare both” Payton explains nervously practicing a hand gesture

“Is it hard to be passionate about something you don’t believe in?” River questions gazing at the boy in the blue suit

“What I believe in most of all, is winning the debate” Payton holds up his cue cards

“I don’t think I could do it” River says more to himself than anyone else

“That’s cause you’re a better person than I am” Payton stops pacing and looks up at River

“You’re gonna change the world Payton” River smiles making direct eye contact with Payton whose confident façade faded away the moment the words flooded out of River’s mouth

“How do you know?” Payton questions voice shaking as he looked down at his feet and then up at River

“Because I see you” River says before his tone changed “And hey, because of that op-ed column you wrote in the student newspaper there are healthy options in the lunchroom now like kiwi” River nudged Payton’s arm lightly trying to calm his nerves

“It does have four times the vitamin c of an orange” Payton shrugs matter-of-factly

“I think you do so much all the time that you lose perspective on how special you are” Something in River’s voice changed when he continued “Hey, come here. do a breathing exercise with me. it’ll calm you down” River put his arms on Payton’s and even that was enough to calm his nerves. Everything else went away as Payton closed his eyes and listened to River’s words.

“Hey, if you get nervous out there, just look for me, I’ll be in the front row” River smiles turning to leave

“Bored out of your skull?” Payton smiles

“No, never when I’m watching you” Payton adds a “man” to the end of his sentence to make it seem far less heartfelt before continuing “Do the breathing exercise with me one more time” he turns back to Payton and then towards the front entrance to the auditorium.

** Present Day **

“Four” Payton was brought back to reality when he heard River’s voice, he then felt River’s thumb brushing against the back of his hand. He opened his eyes and turned to River who was sitting in the passenger seat

“Thank you for coming with me, you didn’t have to you know” Payton couldn’t help but notice River’s hand hadn’t moved

“I could see how nervous you seemed when you were talking to me about it. I couldn’t let you do it alone” River smiles unbuckling his seatbelt and encouraging Payton to do the same.

Payton smiled in response “Let’s get this over and done with I guess” Payton climbs out of his car and River follows closely behind him. They walk inside a showy sandstone building and the receptionist simply says

“It’ll be just another moment Payton; I appreciate your patience” before she goes back to typing on her computer. Payton silently looks around the rosewood walls and leather seats before River speaks

“I want you to know, I’m sorry for running against you” he says making direct eye contact with Payton

“Oh, it’s okay. It’s made this a whole lot more interesting” Payton smiles but there was still a hint of a lie there. There was no way Payton was winning against River freaking Barkley “You basically ruined my chances at winning though” he couldn’t help but smile looking at the other boy

“Astrid says that you’re ahead” River notes thinking back to the last time Astrid and Skye got on his case for ‘not caring enough’ about the election

“And I plan to keep it that way” Payton had a smile on his face, but he couldn’t be more serious. As much as he appreciated and dare he say loved River there was no way the perfect lacrosse player was going to ruin Payton’s one and only dream.

“They’re ready for you now” Payton makes his way up a flight of stairs that were pretentious even by his standards and sits down in a chair across from the Harvard admissions head and the school Dean

“It’s a pleasure to see you again Mr Payton” The admissions head says “Though a phone call certainly would have been sufficient” he was obviously using his power to get into Payton’s head, encouraging him to take the Harvard deal.

“Well, it seemed to me that this warranted meeting face to face… uh. It’s a bit of an understatement to say that circumstances have changed for me. I’ve recently been made the sole benefactor of my family’s fortune. Upon my father’s death I will inherit several billion dollars and become one of the richest people in the country” the two Harvard men laugh between themselves clearly not taking Payton seriously

“That’s wonderful news” he says, “Does that mean that you have come to a decision with regard to our offer?” he questions seriously

“Oh, so you mean your offer allowing me to buy my way into Harvard?” Payton asks crossing one leg over the other and spreading his arms out along the three-seater leather couch holding a sense of power in the room between the three men. Though the others held the title Payton knew he was truly the one in control

“Oh, well we don’t look at it that way” he says “We are arguably the most prestigious institution in the world. a Harvard education can hardly be quantified” The Dean says throwing a pawn into their metaphoric chess game of words.

“I see” Payton responds stopping to think for a moment before continuing “You guys have really screwed the pooch on this one” he uncrosses his legs and crosses the other way so now his left leg was on top of his right.

“I beg your pardon?” the men look at Payton gobsmacked

“Well if you had just accepted my application instead of… extorting me. you would have gotten ten times that, now don’t get me wrong, I do want a building on this campus with my name on it. About 500 yards from here on the bank of the Charles, that’s where I’m going to break ground on my presidential library. On the day that I become a private citizen after my second term in office, a second term that I will have on a landslide” once again the two men laugh at Payton’s foolish life plan “You see gentlemen, I’m gonna be president of the united states. Now I don’t say that to impress you or to seem terribly precocious. I am merely stating a fact. I will be president someday. Because I will stop at nothing. You’re aware that I’ve been accepted at Yale, Stanford and Princeton without pulling any strings or buying any buildings?” Payton says clearly encouraging the men to change their stance on the issue

“So why not go to one of those schools?” the admissions head questions making a gesture with his hands

“Well, see now I really should be asking you that question because the choice is gonna be up to you. Politics isn’t about policies. A candidate is elected on a story. And the story I want to tell is that I went to Harvard. Now if you don’t let me in on my merits and my merits alone, then the story I tell will be about how I was rejected by Harvard, and that’s the story I’ll tell when I’m dedicating my billion dollar presidential library in Palo Alto or Princeton or New Haven. I’m serious. The choice is yours. You get to decide what my story will be” Payton explains. He wanted his story to be Harvard, but he was more than happy with the latter. As long as his story could buy the votes

“Honestly I-“ The Admissions head was rendered completely speechless by Payton’s words. Deciding his time was up he left the room gently closing the door behind him. He makes his way down the circular rosewood stairs to see River standing in a knit jumper and mustard coloured trousers

“How did it go?” River questions smiling

“Better than I could have hoped” Payton smiles as the two of them exit the building making their way back to Payton’s car.

* * *

River, Astrid, and Skye sat side by side in an otherwise empty classroom listening to their analysist talk. River was bored out of his brains and Astrid was acting like she owned him as usual. Every morsel of his body regret running for president but there was nothing he could do about it now.

“Okay we’ve got some good news in his data. Now again I just gotta say it, single poll, small sample size you’re gonna end up with a huge margin of error, that’s just bakes into the cake and we’re looking at a lot of undecideds so that means a lot of uncertainty and some really long tails okay?” Kris goes through the disclaimer alerts before being cut off by Astrid

“Kris, we get it. You can’t see the future”

“I can’t see the future, exactly” Kris repeats “that said, when we look at the polling data for all students, we’re sitting on a nine-point lead”

“I feel a really big ‘but’ coming” Skye says

“Right, yeah , when we look at likely voters our lead drops to two points. That’s well within the margin of error but there is the issue of troublesome trending lines. So far, we’ve been losing about 1 percentage point every two days. If that trend continues-“ Kris is cut off by River

“Payton’s leading by election day” River didn’t mean those words to sound so optimistic

“You know I’m having trouble seeing the good news in this data Kris” Skye says pacing around the classroom

“Let me just think for a second” River says

“I did not join this campaign to get humiliated River” Skye says

“We just need to get the undecideds” he says

“We are losing to a dude” Skye says directing her comment to Astrid, but River responds

“I AM a dude” he says

“Fine. We are losing to a BORING, rich white dude. Do you have any idea how humiliating that feels”

“Have you tried just being happy for Payton?” River questions

“No. because this is a competition. And we have to win. You’re not playing to win River. You’re playing to ‘not lose’ and the voters can smell it. It’s hard to get excited about a candidate who has the killer instinct of a guppy, you know what I’m saying? Show me that you want to win” Skye firmly places her hands on her hips “Let me see some ideas River, I know you’ve got them”

“why do people like him?” he questions “What does the data say?”

“Sixty percent of respondents cite his positive attitude; seventy percent think Alice was wrong to cheat-“ Kris is cut off by Skye

“We should have him assassinated” Skye says before immediately taking it back “Too dark?” she questions

“Jesus Christ Skye. You can’t joke about things like that” River says

“Who says I’m joking?” Skye says “We live in a dangerous world. people die violent deaths everyday”

“You’re sick” River says gawking at her

“Yeah and you’re a terrible candidate. I realise you only did this because Astrid asked you to. But you asked me to be your running mate. Two generations ago that wouldn’t have happened because I was black. One generation ago that wouldn’t have happened because I’m gay. So when you asked me. I said yes. Because I realised right now, this election. This is my time for me. this is about history. Winning this election would be historic and meaningful for a whole lot of people who aren’t used to seeing people like themselves in positions of power. That’s what I agreed to. I did not agree to playing second banana to some basic ass rick boy who gets stuck giving a concession speech because he realised too late that he didn’t want it enough. You don’t like my ideas? Fine. I’m just spit balling here. trying to think outside the box for a second. But hey, you wanna hold a Bakesale, have a car wash, and that’s gonna be what wins you this election. You go right ahead” Skye slams the door and leaves River and Astrid alone with Kris

* * *

“Excuse me do you work here?” A little boy asks standing alone in an empty arcade “The game at my money”

“So?” Ricardo asks sweeping the floor

“So I put 20 dollars on the card and then it said it couldn’t read it. So I swiped it three more times and now it says-“ Ricardo cuts the boy off

“Yeah? Well I don’t give a -care- you little punk ass bitch” Ricardo yells “Why don’t you learn how to read” he continues “It says. ‘no refunds’ you got a problem with that go find another arcade you little pussy” the little boy leaves in terror and Andrew appears behind Ricardo

“My name’s Andrew, can I talk to you for a second?” he questions

“Can’t already had my break” Ricardo shrugs

“It’s about Infinity” Andrew says “I think Infinity’s grandma is trying to kill her”

“Wait what?” Ricardo questions

“Or maybe not kill her” Andrew says realising he had maybe hyperbolised the last part “But at least make her sick and keep it that way”

“Why would she do that?” Ricardo asks

“For attention” Andrew shrugs. “Money. Have you ever heard of Munchausen by Proxy?” he questions

“Yeah” Ricardo looks at him dumbfounded

“Have you really or do you maybe not know what that is?” Andrew questions

“Okay fine I don’t know what that is” Ricardo sighs

“Haven’t you noticed that Infinity and her Grandma are always going on trips other people pay for? Like Disney world, mall of America?”

“I thought that’s because she has cancer”

“Well, I don’t think she does have cancer” Andrew states

“So What? Infinity’s lying?” Ricardo questions

“No. I don’t think she knows what’s going on. Does she ever talk to you about it?”

“Not really” Ricardo shakes his head “I mean most of the time she doesn’t really seem to be in any pain. Except for when she has treatments at the hospital, or when her grandma gives her shots, and then she’s really bad for a few days, like we can’t make out or have sex – wait how the hell do you know all this? Why should I even believe you?”

“Because I’m in love with her” Andrew blurts, and Ricardo looks at him appropriately “Don’t worry dude” Andrew scoffs “I can’t grow a rad moustache like you. She’s not interested. So you need to do something. You’re her boyfriend. It’s your job to protect her. Infinity’s in danger. She doesn’t know what’ going on. Her grandma, that kid Payton they’re all using her”

“Well what am I supposed to do?” Ricardo asks, “Kill Em?” he suggests straight after

“How much do you love her?” Andrew questions

* * *

“Mr Payton? This just came for you” the maid hands Payton an envelope with a Harvard letterhead on it. Without hesitation Payton rips the envelope open being careful as to not rip the paper

“I got in!” he exclaims embracing the maid. He basks in his moment of glory before driving to Alice’s house.

“Hi Tomas, is Alice home I saw her car outside”

“She’s in her bedroom”

“Oh, good” Payton makes his way through Alice’s house and into her bedroom. He opens the door to reveal Alice and James

“Why are you here?” James questions “You’re not supposed to be here” Alice opens her mouth to speak but Payton cuts her off

“Don’t. I understand” he says “You and I should talk” Payton leaves the room and James follows him outside

“How long has this been going on?” he questions “Since the breakup?”

“No. before. A while” James responds and Payton hums in disapproval

“What’s more important, the train, the conductor or the tracks?” Payton questions

“Um. I don’t know. The train?” James says unsure

“Well, the train’s what you see, it’s beautiful and powerful. Conductor drives the train, makes sure it gets where it needs to go. But the train and the conductor are helpless steel and flesh without tracks to ride on. Now, I’m the train. You and McAfee are the conductors but there’s a plan, James. The plan’s the tracks, right? The plan’s what’s gonna get us to the white house. And the plan includes winning this election. It includes me getting into Harvard and it includes my high school sweetheart being my first lady. What you’ve been doing is endangering that plan. How are we supposed to work together for the next thirty years if I have to worry, you’re screwing my wife” Payton demanded

“I am in love with your girlfriend” James responds

“I understand, okay? I understand what it means to be a planet in my solar system okay. I’m the one out front with the pulpit and the money and the girl. And you’re not that guy, you’re the one with the ideas behind me, because that is where you belong by your own admission. You can’t be me, so don’t try because we need you to keep being you. I thought you understood that and were okay with it” Payton hissed

“I am” James responds, “But I love her:” He continues “What now?”

“I don’t know. Focus on the campaign. I got into Harvard by the way” Payton says walking off leaving James alone in Alice’s house

* * *

“Oh my god. You look so sexy” Infinity says setting up an old video camera

“Come here” Ricardo responds before Infinity approaches the bed

“Wait. Let me take my shoes off” after she takes her shoes off, she begins kissing a shirtless Ricardo before pulling away “Wait. I feel weird doing this” she says

“What are you talking about, this was your idea” Ricardo reminds her

“I know. And it’s so sexy” Infinity grins “I just feel gross using Nana’s camcorder. Let’s just use my phone-“

“No” Ricardo stops her “You never wanna put a sex tape on your phone”

“Don’t call it that” she interjects

“Fine. A love tape. Once you put a love tape on your phone, they could look through that stuff. Facebook and the government. And, like Russians. This way. It’s private. It’s just beautiful thing you and I get to share” the tape begins to make a loud whirring noise

“Damn it” Ricardo exclaims “The stupid thing ate my tape” he responds

“Let’s just keep going” Infinity urges Ricardo to come back to the bed

“Can I just tape over one of these” Ricardo asks looking at a bookshelf filled with old VHS tapes

“No. these are all tapes from our trips” Infinity explains “My nana wants as many memories of me as she can get, for when I’m gone” Infinity smiles “This is when we took Ray with us to Bush gardens. I wanna watch this” she says loading the tape into the player. She watches the video of her Nana getting hostile with the reporters and wheeling her away in her chair as Infinity begins to join in on the charade “I was in such a bad mood that day” she says “Well, we can’t use that tape. Ugh let me find another one” Infinity brushes off the moment of melancholy she had just experienced

* * *

Astrid and her father had finished playing tennis and sat at a table drinking water waiting for a country club staff member to bring them their brunch meals

“You’ve put on a few pounds since your boyfriend broke up with you”

“Daddy, you can’t say things like that” Astrid responds looking down at her water bottle

“It’s slowed you down” he shrugs “You should have taken at least one set” he continues “I’m trying to be helpful”

“I don’t mean about my weight. I mean about River” Astrid explains “I’m still upset”

“I know. I’m paying for your therapy four times a week”

“River attempted suicide and hid it from me. It was a uniquely traumatic experience for me” Astrid says “And then he broke up with me with no warning. It’s like one day we were planning his next campaign move and the next him and Skye were all buddy-buddy ganging up against me”

“You blame yourself?” her father questions

“No” Astrid says with a cold look on her face

“Maybe you should” he shrugs “I’m not saying It’s your fault. I’m saying lean into the idea that it is. Explore the ways in which you may be culpable. Systematically rule some out”

“I didn’t do anything to make River kill himself” Astrid fumes trying to keep her anger under control

“Perhaps you were too cold with him. You have a tendency towards that” he says “River seemed um. A sensitive boy. Verging on queer. Perhaps your coldness created insecurity”

“I’m not listening to this” Astrid goes to stand up, but her father continues

“I’m complimenting you”

“You’re calling me cold” Astrid gawks

“Cold is good. Cold wins the day. Everything good you have in your life is because of that glacial resolve. And for some reason you’ve decided to rebel against it. That’s why you didn’t take one set from me. it’s why you’re losing everyone in your life”

“I’m not losing anyone. I broke up with River because he kept secrets from me. it was on my terms”

“You said earlier that he broke up with you and it was traumatising”

“well in a way he did break up with me. he hurt me so I had no choice but to end it. It didn’t mean I wanted to”

“If you want to overcome him. You need to embrace your inner coldness unapologetically” Astrid’s father stands up “Text me later” he says before walking off

* * *

“When is the last time you ate?” Georgina questions watching her son gulf down food like it was his last meal on death row

“Luther wanted cable so that means one day a week each of us have to fast” Martin explains taking a large gulp of his juice

“Share that with your brother” Georgina pushes an envelope across the table -presumably filled with monthly allowance

“Thank you” Martin responds pocketing the envelope “Being poor is terrible” He says

“I know. I’ve been poor before” Georgina mentions ever so casually “Don’t think of it as an allowance. I love you boys, but I agree with your father that you need some seasoning. The world is finished with entitled white men”

“The world will never be finished with entitled white men. That’s why we feel so entitled”

“I clearly missed the mark when raising you” Georgina says looking her son up and down “This forced poverty is a second chance for your father and I to make proper men out of you”

“What if it kills us?” Martin questions

“Great lessons are only learned when the stakes are high”

* * *

Martin and Luther are laying in their one-bedroom dorm room when they hear a knock on the door

“Did you order another prostitute?” Martin questions going to open the door

“No” Luther responds before Martin pulls the door open to reveal James

“The hell are you doing here?” Martin questions

“Due to a few events that have happened over the last few days, you and I now share a common enemy. And I assume the common goal of taking that enemy down. Hard. It’s Payton. I’m in love with his girlfriend. I hate him and I have some information that will tank his campaign and therefore destroy him”

* * *

“Sup Loser” Luther cries when he sees River silently reading

“Payton’s brothers?” River questions though not entirely certain the two nod “Who let you in here?” He questions

“Your, uh, servant person” Martin responds “Look. We wanna help you” Martin holds out a USB 

“We’ve been recently informed by someone very close to our brother that he intends to launch a major campaign initiative by the end of the day tomorrow” Luther explains

“Which means you should make it your initiative, announce it before he does. Embarrass the hell out of him” Martin continues

“Why would you do this?” River questions

“Trust me. we hate Payton more than you do” Martin says

“Well obviously, I don’t hate Payton at all in fact. He’ll be here in ten minutes for a Mandarin lesson so you two better scoot before I get you removed myself” River says pushing Martin and Luther to the door

* * *

“Guinea worm could be eradicated in our lifetime and we could be the people who do it” Skye says into the microphone

“Guinea worm is a parasite that has devastated the lives of millions of people in Africa just because they do not have access to clean drinking water. if you elect me as your president, I promise to make this school the leading voice in eliminating this scourge from the face of the earth” River says, but it was obvious to the entire audience that his heart wasn’t in the words coming out of his mouth

“Sorry what does this have to do with the school?” Pierre asks from the front row

“Excuse me? are you serious Pierre, quit being so damn selfish. We can raise awareness, we can raise money, see this is the problem. You are all caught up in your privilege you aren’t even aware that 3.5 million people were afflicted by this disease last year alone” Skye yells into the megaphone before Payton pipes in from the side

“Twenty-five”

“I beg your pardon?” Skye looks at Payton gobsmacked

“Sorry. Twenty-five people were affected by Guinea worm last year. three point five million were in 1986, that was before Jimmy Carter made the eradication of Guinea worm a pillar of his post presidency” Payton explains. River takes in an affirming nod and turns to Skye

“I’m just curious as to why you chose today to make this announcement. And why you chose this as the thing you wanted to announce. And I wonder where you got those lousy statistics that you didn’t bother to fact check. Wait I know where. I’m pretty sure they were on James’ computer” Payton says smugly

“You should be expecting a call from the editor of the school newspaper about what it’s like to run a campaign shady enough to steal your opponent’s plank and dumb enough not to realise it was fake” James says

River turned to Skye and mumbles “I told you not to accept any intel from those twins, they just want Payton to lose”

“And I want us to win” Skye responds in a slightly louder voice

“All right, if anyone is interested in the real issues. I invite you to come join me in the auditorium after school, thank you” Payton says “You guys should come too. see what a real campaign looks like” he smirks before walking away

“Payton!” River calls running after him “Can we talk?” he questions.

Payton and River are walking around the school until they find a quiet classroom to sit in

“Look Payton, if you want me to drop out of the race, I will. You know I never really wanted this. It was Astrid’s idea and then we broke up and I hate confrontation way too much to tell Skye I want to back out. But I will. For you”

“I told James not to use dirty tactics. Not against you anyway. But apparently, he couldn’t resist. I don’t want you to drop out of the race River. But I can promise you. No more dirty tactics from me” Payton smiles “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a campaign event to run. Come with me. seriously, I want you there”

The two walk in a comfortable silence to the auditorium which is already packed with people. Payton takes a deep breath and shakes off his nerves. River puts a hand on his shoulder reminding him to practice the breathing exercise as Payton makes his way out onto the stage

“Hello everyone, I want to thank you all for coming” he says, “Lights please?” he turns to the side of the stage where St Sebastian’s multimedia team dim the lights and bring down he projector screen “You may recognisee this building. It’s the old blockbuster in the Paso Viejo Mall” Payton starts “It’s been vacant for over a year, about half a mile from where you are all sitting. Now James. The co-chair of my campaign and a person who I count as maybe the closest friend I’ve ever had, recently pointed out that this shopping centre has a new tenant. This is a gun store, less than eight city blocks from here. now let me provide some context information. Earlier this year I watched a very dear friend of mine attempt suicide” Payton’s eyes lock with River’s who is sitting in the front row “Thankfully they are okay. But they used a gun which was in the inventory of the same very gun store eight blocks from here” Payton continues “Now here’s what we know. Each day in our nation there are an average of three thousand four hundred and seventy suicide attempts. Young people grades nine through 12. There are probably many people here today who’ve wrestled with feelings of hopelessness and have experienced suicidal thoughts, and it is a known fact that there mere presence of a gun in the home makes a teenager five times more likely to attempt suicide. Like my friend they don’t-“ Payton pauses and sees River looking down at his hands “They don’t get a second chance. Now when I spoke to the owner of _Strictly guns and amp shooting_ Terrance woods. And I asked him if he thought it was appropriate to be operating a gun store so close to a school, he replied, correctly might I add. That his establishment is in compliance with California’s 1995-gun free school zone act which outlaws gun stores from within 1000 yards of a school. When I asked him what it would take to remove every gun from his store, he didn’t need to answer. Because I already knew. Mr Woods isn’t gonna remove those guns, state law isn’t gonna remove those guns, so I decided that I’d remove them. I brought every gun they had” Payton says “James. Officers” Payton ushers a series of policemen onto the stage holding a multitude of firearms “I’m turning over every one of these firearms to the Santa Barbara county Sherriff’s department who will deliver them this afternoon to the Dowell aluminium foundry in Carpinteria to be melted down into steel rebar that sophomore Dallas Weintraub will then sculpt into an abstract art piece about America’s gun epidemic which will premiere this June at Santa Barbara’s ForReal Gallery as part of this year’s downtown arts walk. Thank you Dallas” The auditorium erupts in a brief applause before Payton continues to speak “I also hold in my hand a sign up sheet for anyone who’s interested in joining me at a march on next week’s city council meeting where we will tell the mayor of Santa Barbara that 1000 yards isn’t enough and he consider a new law. That a portion of every gun sale in this state go toward suicide prevention at the local level. So join me in helping the people who suffer the damaging irreversible effects of suicide the ensure that no one else ever feels that way. Thank you for your time” the auditorium erupts in response once again and Payton looks down to see River with tears in his eyes.

River remained seated in the auditorium as everyone filtered out, he felt Skye come up behind him and sit next to him

“Does your ass hurt?” she questioned

“No why?” River shrugs putting on a tough guy act

“Because Payton just spanked you in front of the entire student body. He just won this thing” Skye stands up and leaves the auditorium, with a brooding look on his face River sat in the uncomfortable theatre chair staring at Payton as students came up and congratulated him. River didn’t notice too absorbed in his own thoughts but Payton was staring right back at him.

* * *

River lay in the cold night soaking in the night air thinking about Payton's campaign speech when he hears footsteps approaching he looks up to see a boy not much older than him with shoulder length blonde hair and a moustache dressed in clothes far too big for him

“What are you doing on my property?” He questions. First Payton’s brothers and now this. How did people even find out where he lived.

“I’m Ricardo” he says

“I have something you want” he says “It’s a video recording, could help you with your election” Ricardo says

“No thanks, I’m not interested. I’m not going to play dirty. Especially not against Payton” River turns to walk away

“Why” Ricardo asks

“I’m just not that invested in the election” he shrugs

“Do you know someone who is?” Ricardo asks. River stops for a moment and thinks about Skye. No. Even if it was Skye’s idea Payton would still think it came down on River. He couldn’t do that to him

“Why?” He questions “Why are you so serious about this. You don’t even go to St Sebastian’s”

“No. but Infinity does. And I love her. I’m sick of Payton using her”

“Payton’s not using Infinity. He likes her, just because he’s getting something else out of it doesn’t mean he isn’t genuinely interested in being her friend”

Ricardo stops to think for a moment. Could that be possible? Could Payton really want to be Infinity’s friend

“You’re right to be concerned though, Payton’s like a different person when he’s in election mode” River says leaving Ricardo alone in his yard

* * *

Payton runs silently into a 24 hour café where McAfee and James are seated both dressed down in comparison to their usual fashion. Before Payton has the chance to say anything McAfee crosses her arms and says “Let’s stay calm and not get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t seen the tape and we don’t know what’s on it”

“Okay, well what is this tape?” Payton questions

“Assistant director of the school paper says she was shown a video of Infinity using an offensive gay slur” James says

“What was the slur?” Payton questions leaning into the table

“Wouldn’t say” McAfee says

“Don’t know. She’s asking for comment before she puts it online” James explains

“How can we comment if we don’t know what she said?” Payton questions

“What can I get you guys?” a waiter asks “You can’t just sit here, you gotta order something” she continues

“How about three orders of nothing, we’re gonna take three nothings” Payton slams money on the table and the waiter walks away

“I asked her what it would take to bury the story, She said the person who showed her the tape still has it and will post it if she doesn’t publish” McAfee explains

“Well who is this ‘person’ who showed her the tape?” Payton questions

“We’re pretty sure it’s Astrid” James says

“Why would it be Astrid? Her and River broke up” Payton says

“Exactly. Rumour has it that Astrid and River broke up because Astrid was more serious about the election than he was. That River wasn’t prepared to play dirty and Astrid wanted him to. This means that if Astrid is still in love with River, which she is based on numerous Twitter statuses, that Astrid is more than prepared to fight dirty and help River win this election” McAfee says

Payton’s breath trembles before he stands up angrily “You know what. Screw Astrid I’m gonna kill her. I gotta find out what’s on that tape” Payton storms out of the café as McAfee and James stand up to follow him

* * *

Infinity is fast asleep when she hears violent knocking on her front door. Anxious as not to wake her grandmother she hurries downstairs as quickly as her weak feet can carry her and opens the curtain to reveal a rather flustered looking Payton. She opens the door and not a moment passes before Payton is speaking “Evidently there’s a tape of some footage of you using an offensive gay slur. Do you have any idea what I’m referring to” Infinity opens her mouth to speak but it’s Dusty who responds

“Excuse me. do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Shut up Nana I’m not gonna take your bullshit” Payton reverts his attention back to Infinity “What’d you say on the tape” he says firmly

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” she says

“You’re lying” Payton responds “You said something you shouldn’t have and they have proof. I need to know what”

“I can’t believe he would do this to me” Infinity sighs

“Who?” Payton questions

“Ricardo”

“Who the hell is Ricardo?” Payton questions leaning on the doorframe of the Jackson household

“You know what. it’s the middle of the night-“ Dusty starts before being cut off by Payton

“Can it Nana” he yells “What did it say on the tape”

“I Did not mean it. We were at Bush gardens and it was really hot-“ Infinity starts before Payton’s attention is grasped by McAfee who is leaning on a car in the front yard

“Found it. It’s already up” she says “It’s buttmunch, she said buttmunch”

“She called an obviously gay reporter buttmunch” James elaborates

“Goddamnit” Payton exclaims “Thanks a lot Infinity, this is over now do you realise that? This is all over now!” Payton storms off climbing into his car as James and McAfee follow. Infinity sighs considering for a moment going after them but she eventually decides against it, instead she goes to her bedroom and dials Ricardo’s phone number

“It’s over between us” she says the minute Ricardo answers

“Baby, what are you talking about?” Ricardo responds

“You betrayed me” she says nervously

“What do you mean?” Ricardo questions

“I can’t trust you anymore Ricardo. It’s over I’m breaking up with you” Infinity says hanging up the phone before Ricardo has a chance to respond

* * *

Payton knocks lightly on Alice's door before opening it

“I asked Thomas if I could bring you your drink” he smiles handing Alice a green smoothie

“I saw the tape. How bad is it?” Alice questions

“River’s ahead” Payton says “I don’t know how to spin this. We're gonna lose” he continues

"I want to come back and help you, but I can't handle being humiliated again. Is there anything else I need to know?" Alice questions

"I'm obsessed with River. Not in the traditionally non-heteronormative way and not in the he's my political competition way either. He makes me feel things. It's his talent. I love you. I really do. But I can't get him out of my head" Payton says "he sometimes gives me advice as well"

"Did you ask him how to get out of this one?" Alice questions

"I don't think it works like that 'oh hey River just want your advice on how to beat you in this election', his advice isn't specific either, it's always just something poetic and deep or sometimes we play the piano"

"Is that everything?" Alice questions

"Yes I think so" Payton responds

"Do you know why the polls get so reactionary when something like this happens?" Alice questions "because people want to follow a leader. All you need to do is let them know that it's still safe to follow you, the polls'll turn back in your favour" she explains

"But how? We don't have time" Payton shakes his head

"I don't know. But, I love you and I know what's right for the school and the world is that you win. You have me in yours 100% from now on" Alice says

"You are the only person that understands me" Payton says placing a hand gently on Alice's cheek, the two share a small loving kiss before Payton is reminded of something "oh and Infinity doesn't have cancer, she's faking it"

* * *

Astrid is alone in her room listening to chvrches, their electronic sound blasting through her headphones at full volume when Ricardo appears in her doorway

"How the hell did you get in here?" She exclaims

"You said you would protect me" Ricardo says calmly "Infinity won't talk to me anymore. She hates me"

"She's probably just mad" Astrid shrugs "it'll pass. For gods sake who else is she gonna go out with" Ricardo's bloody hand rises as he etches closer to Astrid "I have money" she says calmly

"She's my everything" he cries "you took my sunshine away.

Moments later Astrid’s parents walk through the front door, her mother telling her father about her recent lipo surgery before her father notices the broken glass and blood dripped on the carpet. He questions his wife about it to which he has no knowledge before racing upstairs calling his daughter’s name. He opens her bedroom door to be faced with everything turned upside down and no sign of his daughter.


End file.
